Drilling in the Marcellus Shale, and in other unconventional oil and gas formations across the US, has led to a boom in domestic natural gas and oil production -– largely due to advances in high volume…

The recent confidence in shale gas was likely premature, according to several new reports published in the US. In particular a study from the University of Texas claims the US boom will tail off by 2020…

In the 1970s, refineries in the Middle East controlled the world’s flow of oil. Not any more.
National Iranian Oil Company/Wikimedia CommonsDecember 3, 2014

With oil prices on the slide, members of the once-dominant Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided last week not to attempt to rally them by cutting production, leaving the Brent…

Is the sun setting on West African oil? A platform in Limbe, Cameroon.
VirginieVVAugust 6, 2014

After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the US made a point of diversifying its sources of oil to reduce dependence on the Middle East. It was a strategic move which promised a huge boost to West African…

Smoke pours from the Baiji oil refinery, the largest in Iraq, by some reports under the control of ISIS forces.
EPA/STRJuly 7, 2014

The mid-June penetration of northwestern Iraq by the extreme Islamist movement ISIS has prompted major concerns about the world’s oil supply and energy security. The group’s incursion threatens Iraq’s…

Recent tensions progressing to conflict in Iraq have raised concerns that world prices for oil will rise after a period of relative price stability that’s masked significant changes in supplies. Conflict…